Sunday, April 7, 2013

Teacher's Pet: Nice Work! The Importance of Feedback

By Ana Grimh, CPDT-KA

YES! GOOD! NICE! SWEET!
DING! CLICK! What do all of these words have in common? To at least one dog I
know, one of these words is a clue that s/he did something correct. We may use
the term, “marker word,” for these examples. In short, it is feedback.

Over my years of
teaching others and training my own dogs, I have noticed how much we talk to
our dogs, but how little the dogs actually take away from all that chatting.
Unfortunately, they do not arrive understanding our language, and likewise, we
do not meet them understanding THEIR language. As any teacher or supervisor
would do for you, we should add more feedback to help each other!

Letting your dog know
s/he has done something you like is important to building a trusting
relationship and avoiding any “trouble” behavior(s). You can also use feedback
as your dog is continuing to perform a skill/behavior you like, such as Walking
Nicely on Leash and/or Recall.

You can provide
feedback with or without adding a “reward.” An example is working on Polite
Greetings: (1) You approach your dog; (2) S/he jumps up at you; (3) You turn
away and avoid contact. S/he learns that jumping does NOT get your attention,
and thus, it is not a strategy to continue. Now, say your dog has been working
on Polite Greetings for some time: (1) You approach your dog; (2) S/he sits
immediately; (3) You smile, say “Good!” + treat, and/or bend down to say HI.
S/he learns that sitting when human approaching is very rewarding, and
therefore, it is a strategy to continue. See how important feedback is?

In a recent graduating
Beginner class, I saw how adept the students had become at providing timely and
frequent feedback to their dogs. It was heavenly! Both the dogs and students
were enthusiastically and skillfully managing challenging set-ups for Off/Leave
It practice (including food bowls!), and a big part of their success was their
willingness to provide useful feedback to their dog. Kudos to the group!

As you continue
training, think about how to best communicate with your dog(s). I’m certain you
will not regret the results you will see when focusing on this important part
of the training process!